1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a display apparatus and a method of driving the display apparatus. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a display apparatus with improved display quality and a method of driving the display apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display apparatus typically includes a first substrate including a pixel electrode and a second substrate including a common electrode. In such a display apparatus, an electric field may be generated by voltages applied to the pixel electrode and the common electrode, and a desired image may be displayed by adjusting an intensity of the electric field.
In a display apparatus, a grayscale of a pixel is typically determined by a difference between a pixel voltage applied to the pixel electrode and a common voltage applied to the common electrode. When the pixel electrode has a single polarity with respect to the common voltage, a residual direct-current (“DC”) voltage may be accumulated at the common electrode. Due to the accumulated residual DC voltage, a display quality of a display panel of the display apparatus may be deteriorated.
To prevent such residual DC from being accumulated, a positive pixel voltage having a positive polarity with respect to the common voltage and a negative pixel voltage having a negative polarity with respect to the common voltage may be alternately applied to the pixels of the display panel in every frame. An above explained driving method is typically referred to as a frame inversion method. When positive pixel voltages are applied to all of the pixels during a first frame and negative pixel voltages are applied to all of the pixels during a second frame, a flickering may occur due to a difference of luminance between the positive pixel voltage and the negative pixel voltage which correspond to the same grayscale.
Thus, the positive pixel voltage and the negative pixel voltage may be alternately applied to the pixels of the display panel to have a specific polarity pattern in the same frame. For example, positive pixel voltages may be applied to pixels in a first pixel column and negative pixels may be applied to pixels in a second pixel column. An above explained driving method is typically referred to as a column inversion method. Alternatively, the positive pixel voltage and the negative pixel voltage may be alternately applied to the pixels in a column direction and a row direction. An above explained driving method is typically referred to as a dot inversion method.